Supported by the American Recovery & Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA)

Summer Jobs in Biomedical Science Research for High School and College Students and Science Teachers. The NIH is providing opportunities for funding to grantee institutions to support summer research experiences for students and teachers across the country. Biomedical science programs at many of your local research universities, institutes, or teaching hospitals will be participating in this program.

This support is made possible by funds provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

This summer educational opportunity is a unique opportunity for high school and college students who are contemplating a career in science and intend to go to graduate or medical school for advanced degrees.

You could have the opportunity to participate in laboratory science, be a member of a research team, attend experiment planning and analyses sessions, perform experiments, and/or present your results. You may also have the opportunity to attend major scientific seminars at the host institution. You will learn first hand how top tier biomedical science is accomplished, providing you insight into a career in science.

For high school students making decisions about college, a summer research experience can provide you with invaluable insight into how science is done. This experience can help you decide what type of college you wish to attend (small, large, research-oriented), aid in the college selection process, and strengthen your college application.

For college students contemplating careers in science, research experience is a very important part of your graduate school application package. Most advanced science-related degree programs require prior research experience to be considered for admission.

NIH-funded institutions are in the process of requesting and receiving awards dedicated to supporting these summer research experiences. When these institutions receive these funds, they will begin posting opportunities. We will provide additional information on this site as it become available.

In the mean time, students wishing to pursue a research experience this summer can look at a clickable map of research institutions that receive NIH funding near you and/or at our database of NIH-funded projects to identify institutions that have scientific projects of interest. We know time is short. Please help us spread the word by sharing information with students and teachers who might be interested.

Teachers

This is a unique opportunity for elementary and secondary science teachers as well as faculty at non-research intensive institutions to further your professional development. You will have the opportunity to participate in science, be a member of a research team, participate in laboratory meetings, and learn state-of-the-art techniques in modern biomedical sciences. You can learn in-depth an aspect of biomedical science that can be incorporated into your teaching and science programs.

NIH-funded institutions are in the process of requesting and receiving awards dedicated to supporting these summer research experiences. When these institutions receive these funds, they will begin posting opportunities. We know time is short. Please help us spread the word by sharing information with students and teachers who might be interested. We will provide additional information on this site as it become available.

In the mean time, teachers wishing to pursue a summer research experience can look at a clickable map of research institutions that receive NIH funding near you and/or at our database of NIH-funded projects to identify institutions that have scientific projects of interest.

NIH funded Investigators

Starting this spring, you have a unique opportunity to support summer research experiences for high school and college students, science teachers and faculty from non-research intensive institutions in your geographic area. The funds from the Recovery Act of 2009 are available on an expedited basis through administrative supplements to your NIH research grant (SeeNOT-OD-09-060 at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-060.html).

Creating the next generation of scientists is a shared concern of the NIH and the biomedical research community. Through these supplements to your grant, young people interested in careers as scientists, and their teachers, could work on your research projects with the potential of steering talented young people to research careers.

We are asking your help in this endeavor. Please consider having one or more of these individuals work in your laboratory this summer, as well as next. Salary support plus a modest amount of supplies would come from an administrative supplement to your research grant. You may apply for the supplement immediately without identifying these individuals.

In addition to your regular channels for advertising these summer opportunities, NIH has requested a central point of contact from your institution, which we will post on this site to facilitate matching of students and teachers with summer opportunities.

We realize that there is little time between now and the start of summer, but in the spirit of the Recovery Act, your participation in this summer program would provide students and teachers with meaningful summer employment that is also a significant investment in the biomedical research infrastructure.

Deans and Graduate Program Directors at NIH Funded Institutions

Creating the next generation of scientists is an interest shared by NIH and leaders like you at research institutions around the country. The NIH is providing administrative supplements to currently funded grantees to support summer research experiences for students and educators. (See NOT-OD-09-060). Through these supplements, young people interested in careers as scientists and their teachers can get closely involved in top-tier research projects at your institution that we hope will inspire students to pursue careers in biomedical research.

We are asking your help in this endeavor, first by reminding your NIH-funded faculty members of this funding opportunity, and secondly by encouraging a strong mentoring environment for these young students at your institution.

Please alert your NIH-funded faculty, who you think would provide a strong mentoring experience for students and science teachers, to this opportunity and encourage them to apply.

Pass this information on to those responsible for existing programs for students and science teachers at your institution so that they may, in turn, also alert NIH-funded faculty of these supplements and plan for additional students should your faculty receive these awards.

If your institution receives these supplements:

Work on developing rich, meaningful research experiences for these students and teachers.

Please check in on participants to assess their success.

Alert the directors of your graduate programs to the presence of these students and ask them to speak to them about careers in science and about the graduate programs at your institution.

Invite these students and teachers to attend institutional seminars. Some of these students would be experiencing a major scientific talk for the first time.

Encourage your current graduate students to spend some time with the summer students, first by helping them in the labs they where they work, but also by giving them advice about graduate school and their experiences preparing for grad school.

We are encouraging institutions to provide us with central points of contact and information about specific opportunities that we will post on this web site. This will help students and educators connect with your institution. You also may want to consider providing space on your web pages identifying your institution as a participant in the NIH summer science jobs initiative. Matching students and teachers to appropriate mentors will be a key factor to a successful summer experience.

We realize that this activity will involve effort on your part, but feel this opportunity will not only promote jobs, which is a central outcome of ARRA, but provide an integral piece of the investment in the future of science by attracting and helping to educate the next generation of researchers.

Scientific Progress Reporting

Grantees are reminded that the Terms of Award for the ARRA Summer Experiences supplement include the following: “Grantees are reminded to include information on the summer research experience as part of the annual progress report(s) of the parent grant. Include names of individuals supported; type of position (e.g., high school student, undergraduate student, or type of science educator); the student and/or teacher’s home institution; resume or statement of employment qualifications; and a brief summary of the summer research experience for each individual supported, including: Description of how the summer experience accelerated the tempo of research under the grant;Description of the research skills and/or knowledge obtained by students and educators during the experience; Statement from each supported student or educator describing how the experience helped them meet their short-term and long-term employment goals.”

The PI Statement (MS Word - 35 KB) and Participant Statement (MS Word - 39 KB) are provided for reporting purposes. The PI may include the Statements as part of the annual scientific progress report (PHS 2590/eSNAP) or the PI may download and complete the statements, returning them directly to NIHARRAreporting@mail.nih.gov.

Students/educators are required to submit a statement that describes the research skills and/or knowledge obtained and how the experience meets their short-term and long-term employment goals, they are not required to follow the prescribed format. However, as part of an evaluation of the ARRA Summer Research Experiences program, the National Institutes of Health will pool the information provided by the students/educators with similar information provided by others who participated in the program. It will be helpful to us if each student and science educator addresses a similar set of questions. They will not be identified individually in any analysis, and NIH will only use the information provided in their statements to evaluate this program.

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